Ramblings concerning things that really do not matter

Exodus, Part 1 and 2

January 27, 2010

There’s lots here, so I’m gonna go right into the scoring below.

Island mythology: 10 out of 10. The monster is shown for the first time as being smoke and is referred to for the first time as being a security system. The Others are mentioned by name for the first time here as well, and even though it’s not known yet, this is the first time an Other is shown. It’s also the fisrt time “Smokey” is shown retreating down a hole, which gave rise to much speculation on the validity of the security system statement. And the Black Rock is shown for the first time, which becomes a key location in the Sawyer/Locke/Anthony Cooper episode down the line. All in all, this episode is one of the most top-heavy with island mysteries this first season.

Philosophical concepts/ongoing themes: 10 out of 10. The first verbal reference is made here to “man of science, man of faith,” and Jack and Locke’s differing outlooks are actually discussed between the two for the first time. Fate and chance are mentioned consistently throughout the episode, as well as Sun’s theory of punishment. Again, this is one of the most top-heavy this season in this category.

Character development: 4.5 out of 10. These are plot episodes, not character episodes. Some of the flashbacks (Jin’s and Michael’s especially) do deepen their characters a bit, and the dynamic between Jack and Locke is explored a bit more here, but character was not the main focus of these episodes.

Importance of episode to series: 9.75 out of 10. The opening of the hatch propels the storyline of the entire next season, Walt’s kidnapping from the raft figures in heavily next season as well. The “Rousseau kidnaps Claire’s baby” subplot was fairly inconsequential, but almost everything else here is vitally important to the series as a whole.

Personal enjoyment of episode: 9.5 out of 10. I liked Hurley’s airport flashback, the launching of the raft made me teary (as usual), and the pacing was stellar. The only slight downside was the red herring by Rousseau dealing with the Others and the black smoke. Yeah, I understand that this was needed to propel the hatch plot forward, but the “Aaron is kidnapped” subplot that was derived from this was a bit lacking. Mostly, though, this was a very enjoyable 3 hours.

There is just so much to this episode to remember everything, and as important as it is, I need to move on to the second season. These posts might end up becoming shorter unless there’s an episode that really triggers something that I feel the need to talk in-depth about.